HANDKERCHIEF

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does handkerchief mean? 

• HANDKERCHIEF (noun)
  The noun HANDKERCHIEF has 1 sense:

1. a square piece of cloth used for wiping the eyes or nose or as a costume accessory

  Familiarity information: HANDKERCHIEF used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HANDKERCHIEF (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A square piece of cloth used for wiping the eyes or nose or as a costume accessory

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

handkerchief; hankey; hankie; hanky

Hypernyms ("handkerchief" is a kind of...):

piece of cloth; piece of material (a separate part consisting of fabric)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "handkerchief"):

bandana; bandanna (large and brightly colored handkerchief; often used as a neckerchief)

pocket-handkerchief (a handkerchief that is carried in a pocket)

 Context examples 

Mr. Dick took out his pocket-handkerchief, and wiped his eyes.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

His hand was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief, and the right trouser leg was ripped from knee to ankle.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

I thought that perhaps she was looking out for me, so I opened my handkerchief and waved it.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

With a handkerchief in one hand he mopped his face, while in the other hand he carried a new hat and a wilted starched collar which he had removed from his neck.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

The Professor found that so touching that he would have been glad of his handkerchief, if he could have got at it.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

She pulled a little handkerchief out of her muff and began to sob heavily into it.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Then I lashed the tiller and went below to my own chest, where I got a soft silk handkerchief of my mother's.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

When he came he already knew everything, and said: “Take the handkerchief off.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

The man mopped his forehead with his handkerchief and gave a long sigh of relief.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He had left his hat in the ring, and was enveloped in an overcoat with a blue bird’s-eye handkerchief tied round his neck.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)